When did you become a Disney fan?

[DisneyDew]

Winter break 1983 was when I really became hooked. I was always a fan but when I was riding the monorail as it was pulling into EPCOT at night, seeing it for the first time. We ran right over to the World Of Motion and I was mesmerized :dazzle: by the AA's. It was all so stunning. Probably one of my fondest memories! Too bad it is history

Dewey

 

[wardrobeguy]

Good question... let's see. I was a kid in the 1970s and when I was little my family briefly lived in Florida. My first trip to WDW was in 1976 when I was 4 going on 5. I can still remember pieces of it.

Also had some Disney stuff growing up... View Master reels, records, "The Wonderful World of Reading" book club, and some films... granted back then they were on yellow Fisher-Price cartridges that you put into a hand held viewer and held up to your eye and a light to see.

In the late 70s my family had moved to the midwest and the elementary schools in my hometown are named after notable Missourians so perhaps the kicker was going to Walt Disney Elementary school. No kidding! Big picture of Walt hung in the main foyer surrounded by framed portraits of Disney characters.

As a child, I remember believing that WDW was the wave of the future. That our cities would have monorails and people movers and carefully planned urban design. I was also very into Feature animation. Again, this was a time when it was still special and largely inaccessible. We didn't have videotapes (well, until I was a young teen) and it was a treat to see the re-issued films at the movie theater.

In high school the marching band went to Florida for a competition and a sidetrip for a 3 days at WDW for the Magic Music Days program. We marched in a parade around World Showcase. Very cool. It was 1985 and I couldn't wait to see EPCOT Center. Sadly, it was Christmas season of '04 which meant capactity crowds and we only spent a half day at EPCOT. I spent most of the day waiting in line... saw a few things. Spaceship Earth, CommuniCore, Listen to the Land, Journey Into Imagination, Magic Journeys and I'd finally made it to Canada before it was time to leave. I wished then and made a vow with myself that someday I'd be back to see the rest of EPCOT.

I never saw WDW again (except for a day trip to Disney-MGM in 96) until 2001 when I spent a week on vacation there. Now it's become my vacation spot. I just dig it. And Epcot has now been very thoroughly explored and has become my favorite place in the "World."

So, I always had a special spot for Disney stuff...and there were many times I fell in love with Walt Disney product.

 

[aimster]

Probably since birth. I still have my first Mickey Mouse doll, which is now 30 years old. I grew up in a very Disney loving family. My one uncle was hooked since the beginning. He saw Snow White when it first came out in 1937. He loved that movie like no other untilt he day he died.

 

[Goofette]

Mine was the same as many of the others "Wonderful World of Disney" and they would show programs of the park sometimes. I LOVED those shows. I remember watching Annette Funnicello in the Salloon show singing on one of the shows. I barely remember it, but I loved that show. Anything with Walt in it talking about the Parks. That makes my heart hurt so much for how I miss that. It's so sad that the Disney Channel doesn't take advantage of that for the generations now.

I would look forward to Sunday evenings because of The Wonderful World of Disney. Everything Walt did was so wonderful and Magical. And when "When you wish upon a Star" would play that's when the Magic began. Disney is really messing up not going back to that kind of format. Movies and all are great, but wow, if they would put the parks and Characters back in the shows, I know people would love it. From watching that I knew as soon as I could afford it I would go on my own. And sure enough, as soon as I got a job that's the first thing I did!! My parents took me to DL when I was 2, but I barely remember it. I knew they would never take me back, but I knew I would get there someday.....Because "When you wish upon a Star your Dreams, Come True........"

 

[Lovecraft]

I have been a Disney fan since I can first remember pictures in the Disney storybooks my mother would read to me as a toddler. The "Wonderful World of Disney" on Sunday evenings sealed it for me.

I saw every Disney movie that came to our local drive in (this was in the Seventies).

I dreamed of visiting Walt Disney World as a kid, but living on Oahu made me think that the dream was pretty unlikely -- then my family moved to Louisiana and the first thing we did was drive down to Orlando and visit Disney World.

From that time, images and scenes from the trip literally haunted my dreams.
Now as an adult living in Florida, I go as often as I can manage.

 

[martinthesparta]

I had been on several disney trips before and certainly enjoyed my time there and the memories that I took home with me, but it wasn't until I found attraction narratives and music on kazaa that I really became obsessed. The nostaliga (sp?) hit me pretty hard. I immediently planned a trip for the following year and constantly thought about it until my trip this past summer. I'm going to make it a point to go atleast every other year if not just move to orlando and become a part of the wood work so to speak.

 

[Goofette]

I had been on several disney trips before and certainly enjoyed my time there and the memories that I took home with me, but it wasn't until I found attraction narratives and music on kazaa that I really became obsessed. The nostaliga (sp?) hit me pretty hard. I immediently planned a trip for the following year and constantly thought about it until my trip this past summer. I'm going to make it a point to go atleast every other year if not just move to orlando and become a part of the wood work so to speak.

That's really interesting to me that it didn't start to affect you until later. It's funny how nostalgia can hit you like that. Thanks for sharing!

 

[monorail_man]

When did you become a Disney fan?

It was a cold winter day, Jan 12th 1979. (aka the day I was born)

 

[scorp111]

Like many others have said, I guess it has been a life long passion for me, although there were periods when it was more apparent than others.
It is kind of a long story....but read on if you want.

As a Child in Minnesota I remember the Mickey Mouse Club and the Wonderful Word of Disney. I remember reading a lot of Disney books. As a 4 or 5 year old. I remember trying to remember that DisneyLAND was in California, and Walt Disney World was in Florida... :lol:

When we moved to North Carolina when I was 6, I can remember my Mom saying that "We would be closer to WDW". The long awaited family trip to the World never happened. It was always thought about, sometimes talked about, but never happened. My Dad even visited the Tokyo park when he was in Japan for 6 months. We even moved to Charleston SC, but still never made the trip. My mom says it is because my dad wouldn't spend the money it would take. In Fact, I even went to Orlando twice for Bowl Games, but never saw the parks. After their divorce. I think a trip just became out of reach financially for my mom, with 3 children to support.

Fast Forward to October 2002, and my wife and I were living in the UK at the time. My mother and my niece were flying over to visit, and we had decided to spend a few days in Paris. Of course, being that close, I knew we had to go to DLP. We went for day, and it was great. I mean I took pictures going under the Disneyland Paris Gate. The entire time I was there, it just made me realize I needed to get to WDW! (It also so happens that my DD was concieved during this trip :lol: )

In October of 2003, we moved to Montreal, and now we were at least on the same continent as WDW! Of Course my DD nursery had been Winnie the Pooh which brought Disney back to the forefront. In Feb '04 we decided we were going to take a nice vacation in September of that year. After doing some research ( and finding these boards) it was quickly decided that a trip to WDW would be financially viable. You see my wife had been about 7 times before, so although she was excited, it was not to the same level. We decided that we would spend a week at WDW, and her Mom, Dad, & Older Brother would come down for the week. Well as the days slowly ticked by, I planned & replanned the entire trip. I bought 3 different guidebooks. We added a couple of days on to the beginning of the trip, we decided we did not want 7 day park-hoppers, and in fact upgraded to Premium Annual Pass on the day of our arrival when we visited Downtown Disney. That's correct, I bought a Premium Annual pass for me and my wife before I had ever set foot in a US Park. :sohappy:

The trip was a blast for everyone! So much fun in fact, that we have round 2 of the same group planned for a late April-early may trip this year. We just learned that her brother is getting married while we are in Florida...

My wife, DD, & I also went down for a weekend in Dec to catch MVMCP, and we are planning a week by ourselves in the Fall..... :lol:

Now my obsession is not just the parks, we have a "Disney" room in our house, I have the required Mickey Mouse Pajamas :lol:. I might be one of the few guys who received the Sleeping Beauty's Castle Christmas Village set for Christmas!

 

[LoriMistress]

When I was three, my mom took me to my first movie ever...she took me to see Snow White in the theatres. As a baby my mom use to take me to DL religiously.